Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter: Episode 12 Recap

The search for our reincarnated husband is slowly coming to a close end. All of Ok-nam, Yi-hyun, and Kim Geum might finally receive the desperate answers that they have been searching for this entire time.

Note: I would just like to apologize for the long hiatus I had on this blog. I know I was supposed to post this recap up about two weeks ago, but I suddenly suffered from writers block and concluded I needed a break from the blog. However, I’m back in time for the holidays and will hopefully be able to catch up on all the recaps soon. Sorry again and Mary Christmas everyone 😉

Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter: Episode 12 Recap

The episode starts off with Fairy Bausae reading the love letter that he wrote for Fairy Ok-nam back in fairyland. Though 1,000 years might pass and mountains will separate the two, it’s clear that he’ll always love Fairy Ok-nam. In the present, Kim Geum rants to Jeom-soon about his relationship with Ok-nam. He has a much better connection and relationship with Ok-nam than Yi-hyun does. He finalizes his plans and sets on confessing to Ok-nam.

Yi-hyun too is on his way to meet with Ok-nam. The two guys arrive at Ok-nam’s coffee shop at the same time, but can’t bring themselves to speak their mind. Kim Geum eventually asks Ok-nam the one question he had been thinking all along: why didn’t Ok-nam choose him? Ok-nam interrupts Kim Geum and takes the time to answer him first. The episode rewinds back to the hour before when Ok-nam noticed Jeom-dol’s egg cracking in the house. She discussed about the egg with Bong-dae who assumes Jeom-dol is ready to crack because he misses his father. In the present, Ok-nam apologizes to Kim Geum and states that she can’t accept Kim Geum’s feelings because her goal is to find her husband who she believes is Yi-hyun. Kim Geum walks away dejected while Ok-nam enters the coffee shop.

Yi-hyun and Kim Geum have dinner with each other later on that evening. Kim Geum is still sad over Ok-nam’s response to his confession, but Yi-hyun himself isn’t too sure if he is the one for Ok-nam. Though it’s clear that his life has gotten better since he’s met Ok-nam and Ok-nam has chosen Yi-hyun as her husband, Yi-hyun still has to prove if he’s really the reincarnated husband she’s been searching for. At that moment, Fairy Izy of Mazar sneaks up from behind Yi-hyun’s shoulder and warns him to quickly prove this theory or else Ok-nam will move on and find someone else. Yi-hyun freaks out, but eventually catches up to Kim Geum who exits from the restaurant in tears.

When the two guys exit the restaurant, Kim Geum runs out first in pursuit of someone who he remembers he saw back in the mountains during his visit there with Yi-hyun and Ok-nam. Yi-hyun chases after Kim Geum and grows increasingly confused at Kim Geum’s random comments. As if that wasn’t enough, Kim Geum notes that Yi-hyun reminds him of Fairy Izy of Mazar who he saw in the dark during one of their night visits to Ok-nam’s house. Before Kim Geum can comment any further, he passes out from all the drinking and Yi-hyun carries him home to his room.

That night, Ok-nam tears up after recalling the conversation she had with Kim Geum earlier that day at the coffee shop. Meanwhile, Kim Geum tosses and turns in bed and has trouble sleeping. The next morning, Jeom-soon wakes up to find Ok-nam still embroidering like she was doing the night before. She attempts to bring up a conversation about Kim Geum to Ok-nam, but Ok-nam quickly avoids the conversation and changes the subject to the coffee shop. She leaves to prepare for work while Jeom-soon stays behind. Jeom-soon can’t help but feel worried about Kim Geum.

Kim Geum sleeps in due to a bad hangover he got from all the drinking the evening before. During a short visit by his mother, Kim Geum reminds his mother about Professor Park who asked for Mama Kim’s phone number. Professor Park does eventually get in contact with Mama Kim and the two make some plans to meet on campus. After coming across Professor Park on campus, Yi-hyun makes his way to the coffee shop. He can’t stop thinking about Kim Geum’s comments the night before though, and how he mentioned that Yi-hyun looked similar to the deer that Kim Geum saw in the mountains.

Yi-hyun eventually encounters Wizard Park and Fairy Oh on campus. After mistakenly assuming Yi-hyun has a fever, the three visit Ok-nam at the coffee shop. They notice Ok-nam’s droopy and exhausted eyes and worry for her. While Ok-nam claims it was because of the embroidering which she practiced over night, Yi-hyun assumes her lack of sleep was due to something more serious such as a heart-break. In a private talk with Ok-nam, Yi-hyun asks for Ok-nam to not worry about Kim Geum in front of him. He doesn’t like it and his heart aches seeing Ok-nam worry over Kim Geum. After the request, Yi-hyun invites Ok-nam to have dinner with him that night which she accepts.

Jeom-soon stops by Kim Geum’s lab to look for him. However, he isn’t present at the lab as he’s still at home suffering from a cold. As Jeom-soon walks around on campus, she witnesses Gyeong-sul and chases after him. However, she loses sight of him so Gyeong-sul escapes. Though Gyeong-sul is able to escape from Jeom-soon, he’s not out of Bong-dae’s reach as Bong-dae closely follows after him. Meanwhile, Wizard Park and Fairy Oh have a conversation about Ok-nam’s relationship with both Kim Geum and Yi-hyun. While Fairy Oh believes that Yi-hyun is the reincarnated husband, Wizard Park feels like Kim Geum is more fitting and compatible with Ok-nam. He hopes Ok-nam will end up with Kim Geum.

Gyeong-sul is unable to escape from Bong-dae who he encounters throughout campus. Back at the coffee shop, Ok-nam grows doubtful about her search for her reincarnated husband. She feels guilty for constantly thinking about Kim Geum although she believes Yi-hyun is her reincarnated husband. She’s not so sure if she’s missed her perfect timing and golden opportunity to find her reincarnated husband and tears up at the thought of it all.

Yi-hyun joins Doctor Lee in the gym that day and helps her train for her upcoming marathon. As he stands next to her with some snacks and water as she trains on the exercise machine, Yi-hyun is suddenly reminded of his childhood when Doctor Lee asks him if there’s anything about himself he’s curious about. He recalls the moment as a young child when his mother scolded him inside the room of the church for going outside. She didn’t want any rumors about him being her son to spread. Being reminded of his past angers Yi-hyun and he walks out from Doctor Lee’s training.

As he walks out in the rain, Yi-hyun overhears Fairy Izy talking to him. He eventually finds himself across from her as she voices her disappointment in him. If anything, he should get revenge on those who abandoned and betrayed him. He shouldn’t atone for his sins or mistakes as it’ll only lead him to his demise once again. After hearing the harsh words from Fairy Izy, Yi-hyun drops to his knees in confusion.

Wizard Park visits Kim Geum in his room to check up on him. He assumes Kim Geum is just being lazy laying in bed all day and doesn’t consider that he might be sick. Back on campus, Yi-hyun visits Ok-nam at the coffee shop. He grows worried and paranoid over all the visions he’s been seeing and the random visits by Fairy Izy he’s been receiving. Ok-nam assumes Yi-hyun must be recalling memories from his previous life and must embrace them instead of rejecting them. This confirms any doubts or suspicions she originally had and she urges Yi-hyun to return with her before it’s too late.

Back in his room, Kim Geum suffers from a dream where he encounters a deer in the mountains played by Fairy Izy. He confronts the deer about Ok-nam’s winged clothes and asks for the fairy clothes back, but the deer warns Husband Bausae about the dangers of retrieving the clothes. As Kim Geum suffers from his nightmare, Ok-nam reminds Yi-hyun to not be bothered by his tragic and horrifying past. He’s a kind man and he must never forget that. Although Ok-nam leans in to give Yi-hyun a kiss, she steps away after a few seconds. The two stare at each other in confusion while Kim Geum finally awakens from his slumber in sweat.

My Thoughts:

I’ll just keep the comment section short, because there’s not much in this episode that I haven’t mentioned before or that we haven’t seen in prior episodes. This episode essentially confirmed what we had been suspicious about all along which is that Kim Geum is Ok-nam’s reincarnated husband. Yi-hyun is the reincarnation of the deer who was the reincarnation of Fairy Izy. To get her revenge on Fairy Bausae who lead to her demise and banishment from fairyland, she followed him throughout his reincarnations. While Fairy Izy reincarnated into the deer and eventually Yi-hyun, Fairy Bausae reincarnated as Husband Bausae and eventually the current Kim Geum. That’s why Kim Geum recognizes both the deer and Fairy Izy such as in this episode. In his previous lives, he came across both versions of Fairy Izy who appeared to him in different forms.

I’m not really disappointed that Yi-hyun isn’t Ok-nam’s reincarnated husband although I had been rooting for them as an end couple this entire time. I’m content with all the interactions that they had with each other thus far and although they might not end up together, I was still fond of their relationship. Of course, it makes sense for Kim Geum to be Ok-nam’s reincarnated husband and I’m also glad that he’s the one for her. Taking out the fact that he’s the reincarnated husband, Kim Geum is just in general a kind, caring, and compassionate guy, and I think we can all agree that he was more compatible for Ok-nam than Yi-hyun was. Plus, it’s obvious that Ok-nam is also starting to develop feelings for Kim Geum which she felt guilty about. Her mind is telling her that Yi-hyun is the reincarnated husband when her heart is communicating with her that it’s actually Kim Geum.

I think the kiss at the end solidified any doubts that both Yi-hyun and Ok-nam had about each other. Maybe it was through the kiss that they realized their fate and connection to each other. Through the kiss, Yi-hyun might have gathered enough evidence to conclude and prove if he’s the reincarnated husband or not and Ok-nam might have received her proof to determine whether Yi-hyun is truly her reincarnated husband like how she had been assuming all along. It seems like the two came to some kind of revelation or realization after kissing each other in that ending scene. Plus, it also seems like Kim Geum reached a conclusion of some sort after waking up from his dream. He’ll probably confront Ok-nam about this and relay to her the vision he had in his dream that will confirm both his feelings for Ok-nam and conclude Ok-nam’s search for her reincarnated husband.